The present invention relates to a pacifier which is intended to be used by an infant preferably of about eight months old or older. The present invention also relates to a shield plate for preparing a pacifier and so on.
It is well known that there is a pacifier as toy used by an infant at nursing and weaned ages or older.
Such a pacifier is generally intended to be held by an infant in his/her mouth to make an oral stimulation so as to interest him/her. It is well known that an infant between birth and four months of age is entirely nursed by his/her mother with her breast as a source of nutrition. Therefore, one type of conventional pacifier is known which is provided with a nipple shaped like an artificial nipple.
For example, FIG. 9 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional pacifier. As shown in FIG. 9, the pacifier 1 comprises a nipple 2 having a shape similar to that of an artificial nipple, and a flange-shaped shield plate 3 supporting the nipple 2. The pacifier 1 is also provided with a handle 4 extending from the shield plate 3 in the opposite direction of the nipple 2.
In such a conventional pacifier 1, the nipple 2 is shaped like an artificial one. Therefore, the pacifier 1 may be held by an infant between birth and about four months of age and stimulate to suckle so as to interest him/her.
Due to the shape of the nipple 2, the pacifier 1, as shown in FIG. 9, generally may interest an infant who is entirely nursed. However, it is not appropriately formed for an infant who is more developed to discourage him/her from suckling and to start eating baby or general foods.
Namely, especially at the age of about eight months old or older, an infant starts to practice ingesting baby or general foods, for which it is required to move his/her mouth in quite a different way than how he/she used it to suckle breast-milk. Therefore, the conventional pacifier is inappropriate for the infant, which is designed only taking suckling into consideration and which is provided with a nipple shaped like a mother""s one. Therefore, even if it is held by such an infant, it stimulates him/her inappropriately for his/her growth and no longer properly interest him/her.
There are several objects to be solved with respect to the conventional pacifier, which will be described as follows.
1. In case of ingesting not breast milk and formula but foods, it is necessary for an infant to take foods into his/her mouth and then to close his/her mouth. The conventional pacifier however has a nipple similar to a mother""s one, so that when the pacifier is held in the mouth, it enters his/her concaving roof of the mouth, which results in stimulating to move peristaltically for suckling movement. Therefore, the conventional pacifier interrupts to train an infant who starts to be weaned from suckling and to close his/her mouth, though it is required to outgrow suckling and then to start the next developmental stage of ingestion.
2. Also, at such an age, an infant begins trying to eat baby food and to speak so that he/she must change the form of his/her lips, which results in increasing the number of mouth breaths. Since the infant takes foods and then closes his/her mouth, he/she cannot breathe through his/her mouth at that time. Therefore, he/she must breathe through his/her nose when eating food. The structure of the conventional pacifier, however, does not take it into consideration to train to do so.
3. Further, if an infant at such an age gets into the habit to breathe through his/her mouth as mentioned above, he/she continues to breathe through mouth even after grown up into an adult, which results in directly affecting his/her throat and sometimes causes a serious problem such as decreasing his/her immunity. Therefore, it is important for such an infant to acquire the habit of breathing through his/her nose.
Therefore, there are several objects to be solved as mentioned above, and the present invention provides a pacifier or a shield plate for preparing a pacifier and so on, which properly interest an infant of about eight months old or older and stimulates him/her adequately in a way suitable for his/her the growth. The pacifier or the shield plate according to the present invention also can be used for directing him/her to the next stage of development regarding ingestion, and be suitably used in the stage.
According to the present invention, the objects as described above may be overcome by a pacifier having a nipple and an extending shield plate attached on a base portion of the nipple, the nipple comprising, a tip portion having a width and a thickness, the width being larger than the thickness, to be formed into a flat shape extending in a horizontal plane, and an upper curved surface formed on an upper surface of the tip portion, the upper curved surface being designed to have a convex shape at a central portion thereof.
An infant generally has a concaving roof of the mouth in a form of hole, into which a round body such as the top of mother""s nipple may fit. According to the feature as mentioned above, the pacifier according to the present invention has a nipple having a tip portion formed into a flat shape extending in a horizontal direction, so as not to be designed to fit into the concaving roof of the infant""s mouth
In other words, the tip portion of the nipple extends in a horizontal direction so as not to fit into the concaving roof of the infant""s mouth. Also, the upper curved surface formed on an upper surface of the tip portion, having a convex shape at a central portion thereof, is formed to fit with the hard palate located in front of the concaving roof of the mouth of an infant (in other words, which is located on the upper lip side), so that the nipple may be positioned on the hard palate in the mouth when the pacifier is held by the infant.
Therefore, the pacifier is designed not to encourage suckling due to make such a stimulation when the nipple enters the concaving roof of the month of an infant. The nipple is also designed to be easily held inside the mouth.
When the nipple is held by the mouth, it directs not to make a stimulation to suckle but to make a stimulation corresponding to the next intake style, which is to close the lips when he/she takes foods in the mouth.
Also, according to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the width of the tip portion of the nipple is designed to be larger than a concaving roof of the mouth of a user infant.
Under the feature as mentioned above, since the width of the tip portion of the nipple is designed to be larger than the concaving roof of the mouth of the user infant, the pacifier according to the present invention further prevents the tip portion of the nipple from entering the concaving roof of the mouth.
Also, according to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the tip portion of the nipple has a lower curved surface having a convex shape formed at a central portion thereof.
Under the feature as mentioned above, an infant is trained to learn a manner necessary for taking baby or general foods to outgrow suckling and then to start the next stage of ingestion. In the case of such ingestion, foods are gathered at the center of the tongue and then swallowed, for which the tongue has to be transformed for gathering the foods into the center thereof. The lower curved surface is designed to train him/her to learn how to sink the center of the tongue for gathering foods.
Also, according to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the lower curved surface is designed to be more flexible than the upper curved surface.
Under the feature as mentioned above, since the lower curved surface of the tip portion is designed to be more flexible, the pacifier may train his/her tongue to learn a manner for ingesting foods as described hereinafter. In order that the lower curved surface is formed to transform more flexibly, the lower curved surface may be made of it material having a thickness thinner than that of the upper curved surface in the case of the nipple being hollow. Alternatively, the lower curved surface may be made of a material more flexible than that of the upper curved surface.
According to another feature of the present invention, the nipple is formed to have a vertical length shorter than a horizontal length near the base portion thereof so that the nipple is formed to have a constricted part whose cross section is flat.
Under the feature as mentioned above, the constricted part trains an infant to close the lips, and is designed to be held between an upper and a lower alveolars. The constricted part has a vertical length shorter than a horizontal length to be formed to have a flat cross-section so that the constricted part may be hooked easily in a small space formed between the upper and the lower alveolars. Therefore, the pacifier may be held by an infant in his/her mouth without dropping.
According to another feature of the present invention, the constricted part occupies an area having a length, the length being designed to be longer on the lower side of the nipple than on the upper side thereof.
Under the feature as mentioned above, since an infant has a horizontal gap generated between an upper and a lower alveolars when closing his/her lips, the length of the area where the constricted part occupies is designed to be longer on the lower side of the nipple than on the upper side thereof. Generally, it is natural that when closing the lips, the lower alveolar meets with the upper alveolar with the former located inside the latter. Therefore, the lower side of the constricted part for contacting the lower alveolar is designed to be located farther from the shield plate, and, on the other hand, the upper side of the constricted part for contacting the upper alveolar is designed to be located closer to the shield plate. In other words, the lengths forming the constricted part are varied between the upper and the lower sides thereof.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that an area where the base portion of the nipple is connected to the shield plate is made of a member softer than that of the shield plate.
In the feature as mentioned above, the area, where each of the tops of the lips contacts when the nipple is held by an infant in his/her mouth, corresponds to xe2x80x9can area where the base portion of the nipple is connected to the shield plate.xe2x80x9d The area is made of a member softer than that of the shield plate so that an infant feels such as he/she touches his/her lips to a mother""s breast.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the width of the constricted part is designed to be smaller than that of the tip portion
Under the feature as mentioned above, the constricted part has a width smaller than that of the tip portion, so that the tip portion has a portion constricted in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the horizontally constricted portion hooks in the mouth, so that the nipple is prevented from falling out and dropping unexpectedly.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the shield plate is made of a plate member surrounding the base portion of the nipple, and wherein the shield plate has a face surface for facing the user having a closely contacting portion, the closely contacting portion being formed to be concave at least at both sides of the face surface.
Under the feature as mentioned above, the face surface of the shield plate is formed to be concave at least at the right and the left sides thereof for facing a user so as to correspond to each of the curved surfaces of the cheeks of an infant, which results in improving a feeling when the infant touches the shield plate.
Therefore, when an infant sucks the nipple, the shield plate is fitted certainly to his/her lips so that the nipple shaped as mentioned above may function preferably according to the present invention.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the face surface of the shield plate has a dull area curved outwardly at a periphery at least at the right and the left sides of the face surface.
Under the feature as mentioned above, since the face surface of the shield plate has a dull area at a periphery at least at right and the left sides of the face surface, so that the pacifier according to the present invention prevents the periphery of the shield plate from pressing strongly at an adjacency of the user""s lips.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that an area where the face surface of the shield plate contacts a chin of the user is curved in an opposite direction to the closely contacting portion.
Under the feature as mentioned above, since an area where the face surface of the shield plate contacts a chin of the user is curved in the opposite direction of the closely contacting portion, the area does not interfere with the user""s chin, which protrudes a little bit forward.
According to another feature of the present invention, the face surface of the shield plate extends to an upper periphery thereof without forming a dull portion so that the upper periphery comprises a curved surface curved in the same direction to the face surface.
Further, the present invention relates not only to a pacifier but also to a shield plate for preferably attaching to the base portion of the nipple of a pacifier. The shield plate according to the present invention may be attached not only to a pacifier but also to any nipple, teether having a similar form and so on, held by an infant in his/her mouth.
The structure of the shield plate is designed to be attached to a base portion of a nipple for a pacifier and so on, the shield plate comprising a plate member surrounding the base portion, and a face surface for facing a user having a closely contacting portion formed to be concave at least at the right and the left sides of the face surface.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the face is designed to be curved outwardly at least at a periphery of the right and the left sides thereof so as to form a dull portion.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that an area where the face surface of the shield plate contacts a chin of the user is curved in the opposite direction of the closely contacting portion.
According to another feature of the present invention, it is characterized in that the face surface of the shield plate extends to an upper periphery thereof without forming a dull portion so that the upper periphery comprises a curved surface curved in the same direction to the face surface.